


Like Father, Like Son?

by Zorro_sci



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bruce Banner Needs a Hug, Established Relationship, Howard Stark was evil, M/M, Really evil, Science Boyfriends, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark thinks he betrayed bruce, Tony doesn't know when to leave things be, Underage - Freeform, warning for rape
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-08
Updated: 2014-07-08
Packaged: 2018-02-08 00:55:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1920591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zorro_sci/pseuds/Zorro_sci
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony discovers something disturbing while hacking SHIELD's files.  How will it affect his ever-changing feelings about his father . . . . And his relationship with Bruce?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Like Father, Like Son?

**Author's Note:**

> Written in response to this prompt: http://avengerkink.livejournal.com/18271.html?thread=41763167&
> 
> WARNING: child abuse, underage, rape

**It all started out so simple,** Tony thought as he downed another tumbler of Scotch. 

All he wanted was to prove that SHIELD and Fury couldn't keep his tech out, so why try? 

Okay, and maybe it had been a bit of a pissing contest, but could he really be blamed? Fury made it sound like SHIELD had everything figured out, so he just **had** to prove they had weaknesses. It was an irresistible compulsion. That's why he had hacked into their databases on the Helicarrier. 

For a few moments he had access to all their files, but before he was able to transfer them all over to his own network, so he could browse through them at his leisure, he had been distracted by trying to keep the carrier from falling from the sky. 

After the Battle of New York, when he tried to access their databases again, he found that while he had been risking his life for the world they had been brushing up their system. Well, that was just rude, so of course he had to hack through their new security system, and so it had gone in a series of hacks and countermeasures until Tony had so many SHIELD files he had no idea what to do with them all.

He knew it would take far too long to read all of the files, and they were frustratingly all titled with meaningless strings of letters and numbers, so it was difficult to know what was in a file simply by its title. He had decided the best way to comb through the mountain of data was to trust JARVIS to sort it into things that mattered and miscellaneous, unimportant junk.

_"J, sort through this mess, would you? Let me know if you find anything interesting," Tony asked his AI._

_"Sir, I think I found something that may interest you," the AI intoned after only a few moments._

_"Already?"_

_"Yes sir."_

_Suddenly the screens around Tony filled with document and after document, all signed by the director of SHIELD. The thing was, instead of being signed by Fury, these documents all contained a very familiar signature._

_"Wait, are you saying?" Tony breathed in surprise._

_"Yes sir. Howard Stark was the director of SHIELD from 1945-1980," JARVIS confirmed._

_"Well, dear old dad does continue to surprise . . . . " Tony muttered to himself._

_Bruce, Tony's lab partner and boyfriend, entered just in time to see Tony staring in confusion at an array of screens that contained a collage of old, scanned documents._

_"What's got you so confused?" Bruce questioned playfully._

_"Howard . . . I can't believe it. . . . Just when I thought I had finally figured out my old man, I find out that he used to be the director of SHIELD," Tony confessed._

_Bruce nodded sympathetically and made an ambiguous sound of acknowledgement. He was trying to be so neutral, but . . . ._

_"You knew, didn't you?" Tony asked, noticing the way Bruce was trying to remain casual; it was all **too** casual in light of Tony's revelation._

_"Well . . I . . . Um . . . " Bruce stuttered, now appearing very nervous._

_"How did you know?" Tony continued, ignoring how flustered his boyfriend had gotten._

_Bruce seemed to be trying to decide what he should or shouldn't say, when JARVIS spoke up._

_"It appears that Dr. Banner worked for SHIELD from 1978 to 1980."_

_"What?!?" Tony cried._

_What next? Had everyone he had ever known secretly worked for SHIELD?_

_"It was a long time ago Tony. It's probably better if it's just forgotten," Bruce dismissed._

_Tony could see that Bruce was hoping he would just drop it, but he just couldn't._

_He had told Bruce everything. About the way his father ignored him and he never felt like he was good enough, about losing his parents as a young teen, how alone he had felt afterwards and how he lost himself in booze and partying. Afghanistan, Obie, the palladium poisoning and all the crazy things he had done while he thought he was dying. Finding the video from his dad, realizing his father actually did love him, and more._

_He had told him every painful memory, every regret, all of it, and Bruce hadn't even bothered to mention that he once worked with Tony's father in a secret government organization?_

_"How can I forget it? You worked for SHIELD . . .you worked for my dad . . .and you never thought you should tell me?" Tony asked in exasperation._

_"Tony, it's . . . It's just . . . It's not that simple," Bruce pleaded._

_"Look, I get that you're secretive about your childhood and all. I may not know exactly what happened, but I know it was awful, so I've never pressed you to tell me about it. But this . . .come on, Bruce._

 _You know how much I regret not knowing my father better since I realized that he actually cared about me. You actually **knew** him, albeit in some sort of cloak and dagger, top secret sort of way, and you didn't say anything? Especially with how honest I've been with you about everything," Tony pushed back._

_Bruce's face clouded with a mix of hurt and anger. He sighed and seemed to steel himself._

_"Do you really want to know?" He asked with a sharp edge lining his tone._

**That should have been my first clue. I should have noticed how upset he looked and just dropped it,** Tony thought as he poured another large portion of the amber liquid and knocked it back like the four or five before it. 

He had lost track, but at the moment he didn't care. Feeling numb would be welcomed after the day's revelations.

 _"If we're going to do this, we might as well start at the beginning," Bruce said darkly. "I know you've seen my file . . .well . . .the current one. How much do you know about my childhood?"_

_"Not much. Your file just said you were removed from an abusive home at age twelve and sent to live with your aunt and uncle. There really were no details," Tony said carefully, slightly taken aback by the look on Bruce's face._

_"'An abusive home?'" Bruce repeated, "I guess that's one way to put it . . . . My father was an alcoholic and when we was drunk, which was most of the time, he would beat me and mom._

_He thought I was too smart, that I knew things and could do things that kids my age shouldn't know or be able to do. He thought I was some sort of freak or monster, and he would regularly tell me so as he tried to beat it out of me._

_When my mom would try to defend me, then he would turn on her and beat her too."_

_"Bruce . . . " Tony said gently, regretting that he had pushed so hard._

 _Maybe he should have just left the other man alone._

_"What?!?" Bruce responded harshly as his eyes briefly flashed green. "You think I've been holding out on you? That I've been keeping secrets?_

 _Well, not anymore. You wanted to know, so I'm telling you."_

_Tony knew better than to argue when Bruce's eyes started changing colors, so he snapped his mouth shut, and nodded._

_"That's what happened until one day my mom decided she'd finally had enough. He had beaten me within an inch of my life, and she had been so scared she decided that we needed to leave._

_We packed our bags and made our way to the car, while he was passed out drunk on the couch. We were so close to being free, but then he woke up and came out screaming and yelling._

_He grabbed onto my mom and threw her to the ground, and then he kept hitting her and bashing her head into the sidewalk until she just went still," Bruce paused and swallowed a lump in his throat, "He killed her, and the court decided that he must have done it because he was mentally unstable, so they put him in a mental hospital._

_Then, like you said, I went to live with my aunt and uncle."_

_Tony stood frozen to his spot. He didn't know what to do or say._

_He knew that Bruce had been abused as a child, a thought that had always bothered him, but to hear him talk about all of the things he had to go through was more difficult than he had imagined._

_His anger burned against Bruce's father, and he longed to go back in time and protect Bruce from him, and from every other awful thing he had had to endured. He wanted to wrap Bruce up in his arms to let him know that he was with him now and he cared, but Bruce had a wild look in his eye, and he thought better of it._

_"My aunt and uncle were kind, and they tried to take care of me, but they suddenly had this damaged teenager dropped on them and they didn't really know what to do._

_School was no escape either. Suddenly I was the new kid, and the other kids weren't so accepting of the smart, awkward, nerdy kid._

_I got bullied and beat up at school, and I started to wonder if there would ever be an end. I had hoped that getting away from **him** would mean a fresh start, but I was back to hiding bruises and trying to avoid attention so no one would hurt me. _

_By the time I got to high school, I couldn't take it anymore. I was angry at the world, and I just wanted all of it to be over._

 _So I built a bomb in the basement of my school, and then I sat by it and waited for it to go off and kill me and all of the other students in the school. Only, it didn't._

_Apparently I was so nervous that I forgot to connect a few of the wires, so the bomb wasn't able to arm," Bruce said nearly emotionlessly._

_Tony shuddered. The thought of Bruce so young and trying to kill himself, and take so many others out with him, made his blood run cold._

 _Worse yet was the blank expression on his face as he recounted the tale. Tony had thought that the dark anger he had seen earlier when Bruce talked about his father was frightening, but he was wrong. The numbness and resignation he was seeing now were absolutely terrifying on a scale that Bruce's anger, even in rage monster form, could never reach._

_"I was arrested," Bruce continued with the same detached resignation, "I thought that I would probably spend a good chunk of my life in jail, even if I was only a minor, but then a man came to visit me._

_He said that he was the director of an organization called SHIELD, that worked to keep the world safe. He said that he thought it would be a waste for a brilliant mind like mine to be locked away, and then he gave me a choice._

_He said I could use my talents, 'my genius' as he called it, to help SHIELD voluntarily, or I could be charged as a terrorist and be sent to Guantanamo prison, where he assured me no one would ever hear from me again and they had 'other ways' of getting me to help."_

_Tony paled._

_So that's why Bruce hadn't told him. His father had coerced him into working for SHIELD._

_Part of him wished he hadn't asked, but now that he knew, he needed to know what else happened. What had Howard done to Bruce? Did he follow through on his threat to torture him? (Tony's stomach turned and his chest ached at the thought, as remembrances of Afghanistan flooded his mind.) Did he just leave the teen alone once he had him in his ranks?_

_Tony was afraid of what he would learn, but he pressed on anyway._

_"So you accepted his offer?" Tony questioned hesitantly._

_Bruce nodded._

_"Then what happened? What did Howard want from you?" Tony asked._

_Bruce hesitated, noticing the way Tony said 'Howard' instead of 'dad' or 'father.'_

 _Pepper had told him that he always used to refer to his father by his first name, but all of that changed after Tony found the video that had led to his life-saving rediscovery of vibranium._  
  
_"He wanted me to build weapons for him," Bruce said simply._

_"So you built weapons for SHIELD?" Tony confirmed._

_Bruce nodded, and the air filled with tension._

_There was more. Tony just knew it._

_Finally, he gathered his courage and asked the question that had been weighing on his mind._

_"Bruce, did Howard hurt you?" he whispered urgently._

_"Tony . . ." Bruce said gently._

_"I need to know, Bruce," Tony pleaded._

_Bruce remained silent; clearly unwilling to say anymore._

_"JARVIS, are there records from the SHIELD medical bay for Bruce Banner during 1978-1980?" Tony asked when it became clear that Bruce was going to remain mute on the subject._

_"Yes sir . . . Several," JARVIS replied hesitantly before displaying a myriad of medical reports unto the holographic screens._

_Tony's breath caught at the sheer volume of pages that littered the screen._

 _He started to read the closest one, which listed off broken ribs, severe bruising, and several lacerations. There was also a note about a possible psych follow up due to the "volatile nature of the patient." The next looked similar, as did all of the reports stretched out over all of the available screens._

_"Bruce," he said brokenly._

_"What?" Bruce snapped back, clearly angered at the way Tony had taken the decision out of his hands. "What do you want me to say?_

_That he beat me when I didn't do things fast enough for him?_

_That when my research on something he asked me to do hit a dead end he would take out his frustration on me by hitting me with books, test tubes, or whatever else was handy?_

_That he took me to the medical bay and made me lie about getting in fights with other agents to cover his tracks?_

_That everyone thought I was some sort of loose canon that could blow up at any moment, because they all thought I just lashed out at people all the time?_

_That when he came back to SHIELD tipsy after a social event he would corner me and rape me?_

_That he sometimes even tied me up, and went on and on about how he could 'do whatever he wanted to me' before he had his way with me?_

_That any time I tried to say 'no' or leave he reminded me that I could always be sent to Guantanamo if I refused to cooperate?_

_Is that what you wanted?!?_

_To know that your father treated me like his personal punching bag and sex slave?_

_Why would you want to know that!?! What possible good could come from that!?"_

_By the time he finished, Bruce was sobbing and shaking as he frantically looked around the room like a caged animal._

_"Bruce . . ." Tony repeated just as brokenly, with tears filling his eyes._

_He reached out to envelop his distraught boyfriend in his arms, but Bruce backed away._

_Tony looked back at Bruce with intentions to advance toward him slowly, but he froze as he saw the hurt and fear clearly written on his face. He had done that to him. He had forced Bruce to relive all the worst moments of his life, and he hadn't listened when he had tried to tell him it was too much._

_After all his big talk about not letting anyone hurt Bruce, he had just hurt him so badly that he looked ready to collapse on the floor in a heap._

_"Bruce. . . I'm sorry," he said when nothing else came to mind._

 _He meant it too, it just didn't seem like enough._

_"Leave me alone, Tony," Bruce managed between gasping sobs._

_Tony had stared back helplessly for a moment, and then turned for the door._

 _As he left he heard Bruce crash to his knees as his ragged sobbing continued. He let the door shut behind him with half of his mind screaming that he should be with Bruce when he was upset and the other half screaming back that he had lost the right to comfort Bruce when he had pushed him into confessing against his will._

The remembrance of Bruce's sobs echoed in his ears as he considered the bottle in front of him. 

He picked it up to pour himself another, when he was suddenly overcome with self-loathing and threw the bottle across the room and into a wall. 

Hadn't he been listening? He was an idiot! 

_________________________________________________________Bruce's father had beat him when he was drunk and Howard had forced himself on Bruce after he'd been drinking, so being a genius what does he do? He goes upstairs and gets drunk after he reduced his boyfriend to a sobbing heap on the floor._________________________________________________________

If Bruce came up to talk to him, though there's every possibility he won't and he's halfway to India by now, there's no way he'll feel any safer or less betrayed when he finds Tony sloppy drunk. 

_________________________________________________________In his mind he listed himself among the ranks of Brian Banner and Howard Stark, because he belonged there didn't he? Hadn't he forced Bruce into what he himself had wanted when he kept pushing and prodding for him to talk? Hadn't he taken away his choice and threatened to get what he wanted one way or another when he had told JARVIS to pull the records? Wasn't he someone who Bruce should have been able to trust, who hurt him instead? He may have used a different method, but he was just as guilty. Maybe he and Howard weren't as different as he thought._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________________________________________________________Tony paused as that last thought ushered in a horrible notation._________________________________________________________

What if **Bruce** thought they were alike too? What if Bruce had **always** thought there were alike? 

Maybe he didn't really love Tony. Maybe he'd never wanted to be with him at all. 

Tony had been very forward about his attraction to Bruce, and his desire to be with him. Maybe Bruce thought that if he didn't give Tony what he wanted, he would hurt him the way Howard had. 

_________________________________________________________He felt sick to his stomach as he imagined Bruce agreeing to have sex with him so that he wouldn't give the military the newest line of Hulkbusters and point them in his direction._________________________________________________________

Surely Bruce wouldn't have thought that? But given both of their backgrounds, Tony had to admit it was a possibility. 

Bruce was used to people using him and mistreating him. And even though he would like to think he now did so for noble reasons, Tony was known for manipulating people and situations so that he always got what he wanted. 

_________________________________________________________Another wave of self-hatred and anger washed through him and the tumbler in his hand joined the bottle across the room in a heap of broken glass. He growled in frustration and began to pace across the penthouse floor._________________________________________________________

He had to talk to Bruce. He had to let him know that he had never meant to hurt him, and that he would never hurt him intentionally. He had to let him know that he really loved him and cared about him. 

_________________________________________________________He ran his fingers through his hair angrily and thought about how he could get Bruce to listen. What could he say? He knew that he had no right to ask for Bruce to listen after what he had done._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________________________________________________________He kicked the couch out of frustration, and when the action left him yelping in pain, he overturned it with a quick, rage-filled motion._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________________________________________________________Then on top of all of that, there was Howard. For years he had been angry with the man. He believed that he didn't love him and would rather have never had a child. He thought that Howard had seen him as a burden, and had near hated the man for the way he made him feel unwanted and like nothing he could do would ever be good enough._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________________________________________________________Then he had found the tape, and everything had changed. He discovered that he was wanted and loved, but his dad had never known how to express his love. He found out that his father had been proud of him, and suddenly he was sorry for all the years he had spent angry. He wished he had known Howard better, and he forgave him for his clumsy words, knowing that they were hiding love behind them._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________________________________________________________Now, he knew that whether or not his father had loved him, he had been running a secret government organization, and no doubt doing all sorts of unsavory things. The most egregious of those acts being abusing and raping a young man that was not much older than Tony himself. A young man who had known nothing but pain and abuse before he met Howard, and had only known more at Howard's hands once he had been coerced into working for him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________________________________________________________That his father could do that to a minor, to a **child** , made him question his father all over again; because as much as he had rejoiced when he he had learned that his father had loved him, just as he had always hoped as a child, now that love was tainted. It seemed diminished somehow, because even while he loved his son, Howard had been hurting the person who would grow up to be most important in Tony's life. His best friend, and the person he loved most in the world. The only one he felt he could trust completely. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________________________________________________________His frustration rose and the love seat and then one of the chairs got the same treatment as the couch had a few minutes earlier._________________________________________________________

Tony didn't know how to make sense of it. 

Before, he had always defended his father, even while secretly hating him, because he had thought that while Howard was a lousy father, he was still generally a good person. Sure, he made weapons, but he made them to keep the country safe, and to make sure military men and women were well-protected. 

Now, he wanted to defend his father out of more than obligation, but he didn't know how, because what he had done seemed so monstrous and unforgivable. 

_________________________________________________________"Sir," JARVIS enquired hesitantly._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________________________________________________________"What?" Tony snarled._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________________________________________________________"Dr. Banner is in the elevator requesting entry," the AI informed him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________________________________________________________"He lives here. Why is he asking for permission?" Tony asked with a little less of an edge to his voice._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________________________________________________________"I do not know, sir. He merely told me to ask you if he could enter the penthouse," JARVIS stated._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________________________________________________________"Let him in."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________________________________________________________He was trying to right the couch, when Bruce walked off the elevator and into the living room._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________________________________________________________"There was an awful lot of noise, are you okay, Tony?" Bruce asked hesitantly, as he surveyed the room filled with overturned furniture and the pile of broken glass beside the wall._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________________________________________________________"Am I okay?" Tony asked in shock. "Shouldn't I be asking you?_________________________________________________________

I mean, if I had any right to ask after what I did to you." 

_________________________________________________________"I may not have wanted to share, and you were pushy, but I'm okay._________________________________________________________

You don't need to keep beating yourself up over it," Bruce said gently. 

_________________________________________________________Tony stared at him in disbelief._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________________________________________________________"I can understand you wanting to know more about your father. I'm just sorry you had to find out about that part of him._________________________________________________________

It can't be easy to hear after all of the things you've learned about him in the last few years. I'm sorry," Bruce continued. 

" _ **You're**_ apologizing?" Tony questioned with incredulity. "What did you do? 

Whether or not you told me, Howard still would have done all of those things. Not to mention I'm the one who pushed you into telling me. 

It's not your fault I'm stubborn, or that Howard was a monster." 

_________________________________________________________"I'm still sorry. I feel like I took your father away from you after you had just gotten him back," Bruce lamented._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________________________________________________________"You didn't," Tony said firmly. "He did. When he decided to hurt you he gave up his right to be called a father._________________________________________________________

What kind of father does that to a child? I mean, you may have been fifteen, but you were still a child, and a father would have protected you whether or not you were his son." 

_________________________________________________________Tony paused and looked around the room uncomfortably. He shifted his weight between his feet and looked back to Bruce and continued in a softer voice._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________________________________________________________"There's still one thing that's bothering me, Bruce._________________________________________________________

I know I look a lot like Howard. I mean Steve still calls me 'Howard' sometimes on accident. When you met me . . .did it bring it all back up for you? 

And . . .did you think I was like him? 

I mean . . .did you only agree to be with me because you were afraid of what I would do to you if you didn't?" 

_________________________________________________________Bruce felt his heart melt as he looked at the earnest fear and uncertainty on Tony's face._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________________________________________________________"When I first saw, you walk into the command room of the Helicarrier, yes, you did remind me of Howard. But only your looks._________________________________________________________

Then, within a matter of minutes, you were looking at me like I was your equal, complimenting me on my work, and teasing me about the Hulk without a hint of fear. 

_________________________________________________________You treated me so differently than anyone had before. You treated me with respect, but didn't let me take myself too seriously._________________________________________________________

After that, I couldn't equate the two of you. So, no, I didn't agree to be with you because I was afraid of what you'd do to me. 

I agreed to be with you, because I'd never been so attracted to someone so quickly. 

_________________________________________________________I trusted you in less than an hour. That's a big deal for me, and I think after what I told you, you can see why," Bruce responded._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________________________________________________________"I love you," Tony whispered, as he pulled Bruce into a hug._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________________________________________________________"I love you too," Bruce whispered back, as he wrapped his arms around Tony tightly._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________________________________________________________Tony still didn't know what to make of all the things he had learned, but he knew that whatever had happened he wouldn't let it affect his future with Bruce. Despite everything, Bruce was willing to look forward and stay by his side. Bruce loved him, and that was more than enough for him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


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